maintenance

American  

[meyn-tuh-nuhns] / ˈmeɪn tə nəns /

noun

1. the act of maintaining.

   the maintenance of proper oral hygiene.

2. the state of being maintained.

   the maintenance of friendly relations with England.

3. care or upkeep, as of machinery or property.

   With proper maintenance the car will last for many years.

4. means of upkeep, support, or subsistence; livelihood.

   to provide a comfortable maintenance.

5. alimony or child support.

6. Law. an officious meddling in a suit in which the meddler has no interest, by assisting either party with means to prosecute or defend it.

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adjective

1. Pharmacology, Psychiatry. administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition.

   maintenance dose.

maintenance British  

/ ˈmeɪntɪnəns /

noun

1. the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained

2. a means of support; livelihood

3. (modifier) of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etc

   maintenance man

4. law (formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the action See also champerty

5. law a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse

6. computing

   1. the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts

   2. the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment

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Usage

Spelling tips for maintenance The word maintenance is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ meyn-tuh-nuhns ]. How to spell maintenance: To spell maintenance, break it down into three parts: main - ten - ance. The suffix -ance means roughly "action."

Other Word Forms

• nonmaintenance noun
• premaintenance noun
• self-maintenance noun

Etymology

Origin of maintenance

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maintenaunce, from Middle French maintenance; equivalent to maintain + -ance

Explanation

If you make sure that your house or car or even a database stays in good working condition, you are keeping up on the maintenance. Maintain, the verb related to the noun maintenance, comes from the Latin expression manu tenere meaning literally "hold in the hand," a fitting picture for this word. As well as the upkeep of machines, maintenance can be used with things that need sustaining. The maintenance of law and order is taken care of by the police. When a couple divorces, the husband is usually required to pay maintenance — financial support — to the wife.

Example Sentences

“I thought it would affect us better than it has,” said Tyler Dunworth, who supervises a maintenance crew at a university in upstate New York, of the immigration crackdown.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Cutbacks in travel in the Middle East hit the company's maintenance business.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

A number of Aer Lingus flights have been cancelled from its summer schedule due to what it has described as "mandatory maintenance on aircraft".

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

To fully avoid triggering rules about in-kind support and maintenance, your son’s rent must be at or near fair market value.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

Like the master score of a bewitchingly complex symphonic work, the genome contains the instructions for the development and maintenance of organisms.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• care
• conservation
• preservation
• supply
• upkeep